In a rich man's world

The majority of football fans find it hard to swallow that the stars of their game earn the outrageous amounts they do. However, has anybody ever thought in depth as to why?

If anything, we as fans are responsible for the players we pay money to watch earning such a share of the plunder.

Football as a commercial entity is as far reaching as they come. Most European, South American and African nations consider it their number one national game whilst it is growing rapidly in North America, Asia and Australasia.

Any ‘business’ which operates at a national level in almost every country on the planet would turn over billions per annum. Is it really such a shock that the priority employees of the biggest branches take home such mega bucks?

Take the example of the much maligned Fernando Torres after his incredible £50 million transfer deal from Liverpool to Chelsea last January. Torres was bought to score goals and lots of them.

In reality, El Nino has netted twice meaning that Chairman Roman Abramovich has effectively paid £25 million for two goals. The problem with the business of football is that the outcomes are very difficult to forecast – meaning such huge investments cause controversy.

Let’s turn the tables a little. If one giant company purchases a service from another for £50 million there is an accurate, detailed plan as to how and when the benefits will be wreaked.

You can’t do that in football. But exchanges of this scale are still bound to take place because football is a global brand, perhaps the biggest of them all. The difference is the products are human and results are impossible to forecast.

Footballers are indeed human but they often make a rod for their own back. Given the profitability of the service they provide the amounts they are paid and traded for are defensible. However, when they fail to provide satisfactory returns they are open to attack.

Furthermore, value is a very subjective concept and one man’s astute business deal is another man’s distorted reality. Should we expect more than goals from £50 million strikers? With football attendances dwindling, perhaps the problems are really off the pitch.

We love or hate footballers for the job they do, and as pointed out recently by honest Spurs full back Benoit Assou-Ekotto, it is a job. In that case, I feel that the job description of footballers and their clubs should extend beyond their performance on the pitch.

This isn’t a rant about how footballers should make good role models. They are after all human. But you can’t be human when you make mistakes and a commodity when you get paid.

Footballers should give more back to the people who make them rich. If every Premiership footballer put 1% of his wages into a grass-roots hedge fund it would be easier for young people to keep fit, develop their skills and wreak the social benefits of sporting competition.

Maybe that way, when Fernando misses a sitter at Old Trafford the fans would see a man who pays for their kids to play football; not just a product who has cost their revered club £50 million.

Don't finish Frank.

Question marks over Frank Lampard's international future have been raised as we bask in the glory of a routine 3-0 victory over Bulgaria in Sofia.

England brushed historically tricky opponents aside with a flurry of first half goals and with the new 4-2-3-1 formation in motion it is difficult to see who Lampard would displace.

The late, great Bill Shankly remarked that an ideal midfield is comprised of a 'spreader', a 'cruncher' and a 'buzzer'; and in Barry, Parker and Young one can see this ideology being adhered to.

However, does this really have to spell the end of Lampard's England career? The Chelsea playmaker is a fine passer and a committed professional leaving his numerous accolades aside. There is no way he can not be considered as an option.

The so called 'Golden Generation' which Lampard is a torch bearer of is now in twilight. The fresh blood of Smalling, Wilshere, Young and Hart have already marked the dawn of a new era and again Lampard is a part of a futile co-existence argument.

Could Lampard play with Gerrard? Of course he could. Can Lampard play a more disciplined midfield role? Of course he can. The overlap in generations gives Fabio Capello an opportunity to allow his youthful talent to be nurtured by his senior squad memebers, and Lampard has to be one.

In England's victorious Rugby World Cup campaign in 2003, a 36 year old Mike Catt supported the young star fly-half Johnny Wilkinson in massive games against France and Australia.

The utility back was preferred to Tindall due to his superior kicking skills and tactical acumen which proved vital in the semi-final against France. He also appeared as a substitute in the famous final becoming the oldest player ever to compete in a RWC Final.

England are often criticised for not keeping possession, losing their discipline and ultimately being outsmarted by quality opposition. Lampard has amassed 87 international caps, competed in 3 World Cups and suffered adversity at the hands of refereeing controversy, missed penalties and most memorably a lack of goal-line technology.

You learn more from your mistakes than your successes and Lampard is an invaluable role model for inexperienced midfielders such as Wilshere and even Scott Parker with his own limited international exposure.

Most importantly, Lampard is still a good player. At 33 he still absolutely commands a free role at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea look a shadow of the side they are with a fit Frank than they are without him.

World Cups are often a stage for older players to take their final bow. Take Zidane's Golden Ball winning performance in 2006; Cannavaro's Jules Rimet winning leadership in the same year; and staying in 2006, David Beckham's underappreciated contribution assisting or scoring all but one of England's goals at 31 years young.

To consider Lampard as a squad player as opposed to an untouchable name on the team sheet is a sign of England's progress and the quality of our young players. It is not a reflection on Lampard's ability, fitness or desire to play for his country.